Ventura County Star
By Kevin Clerici
Friday, November 9, 2007

Escrow on an estimated $60 million land sale for some 3,800 private hillside acres above Ventura that was to close in October has been extended as the developer works to secure financing.

The deal is not in jeopardy and should close in December, developer JK Mondol said today as he appealed to a group of local business leaders to endorse his housing proposal. He was seeking investors willing to commit a minimum of $500,000.

"We don't have enough local support financially," Mondol said as part of a 20-minute presentation to a gathering of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce at the organization's office complex on Victoria Avenue.

In an interview afterward, Mondol said he was confident in the deal. "It (the deal) can close without" the local buy-in, he said, but he didn't disclose how many investors he needs to share the costs of the project. "Right now, we're looking at the middle of December to close."

The delay was due to bank financing, he said, noting lenders have tightened loan standards because of the meltdown in the subprime market.

Such delays are not uncommon, said Realtor Joe Virnig, president of the Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors.

"Even in good markets, these kinds of complicated deals take a long time to close," Virnig said. "It's not uncommon for there to be extensions."

Investec Real Estate Cos., a Santa Barbara-based investment firm, remains in escrow to purchase more than 3,800 acres in and around north Ventura, as well as a smaller plot near the ocean, Mondol said. The land is owned by three corporations run by heirs of Ventura's Lloyd family.

Investec president Kenneth Slaught could not be reached for comment.

Mondol and his partner Jimmy Mesa, a prominent developer and landlord in downtown, want to build an environment-friendly development of estate homes while opening up much of the land to public recreation.

Their proposal for about 120 homes would be the first since the Lloyd family led a controversial and ultimately unsuccessful effort to develop the hillside area with nearly 1,400 tract-style homes. The Lloyd-backed Measure A overwhelmingly failed at the ballot box in 2002.

The homes would range from quarter-acre to 5-acre estates inside city limits to 160-acre ranches in county jurisdiction — both of which would fall under current zoning rules and not require vote r approval, he said.